See Part One for Disclaimers

Merrin and Dureena reached the solid oak door a few moments later.  Pushing it open, Merrin ushered Dureena into a room that looked as though it had been lifted from the pages of a history book.  A dark, wood frame bed stood at one wall, rich tapestries decorated two others.  Wood flooring was covered by an intricately woven rug that spread across half the room's width.  All this Dureena noted, but did not really see.

Turning, he stopped her movement with a touch to her arm.  "Dureena?" He held forth his hand, muttered a short phrase and watched with pleasure as a blood red flower popped into existence on his palm.  "I couldn't help noticing your sadness.  Maybe this will cheer you up -- just a little."

He left before she could speak.

Dureena watched the door close and then let her eyes trace the delicate contours of the flower, holding it up to her nose to smell its fragrance.

Moving to the window, the flower cradled in her hands, Dureena looked out with blind eyes as she contemplated their situation.  Merrin's solicitous words and kind gesture had prompted all her doubts and guilt to resurface.  Tears pricked at her eyes and a headache began to form deep within her skull that had nothing to do with Renn's technomagic.  Setting the flower down with care, she brushed her hand angrily across her eyes, wiping away the burgeoning tears that threatened to fall.  She would not give in to this again, not now, not when Galen needed her; she would do anything to make up for what had happened.  Not once had he blamed her, not once had he, by word or look, acknowledged that she was to blame.  Taking a deep breath, Dureena tried to calm herself.  It would not do to show her distress to the Circle, nor to Galen.  He had been patient beyond measure, she would not test it further.

With eyes now clear, and a heart that beat a little steadier, she realised that full night had fallen -- time to rejoin Galen and confer.

***

Galen was pouring over a large map when Dureena joined him.  Night had fallen over this world, yet for them it was barely mid day.  Merrin, Sharree and the others had retired leaving the Mage to his solitary deliberations.

"What do you think?" Dureena asked, as she retook her seat at the table.  "They seem genuine enough, though this place is so far removed from anything I have seen before I have to wonder what is real and what is illusion."

"I agree," Galen said slowly.  "There is not the least hint of technology that I can find.  Not even basic electricity."

Dureena indicated the lights glowing around the walls and over the table itself.  "Magic, you think?  I could detect no power source either."  She reached out a finger and touched the nearest glowing orb, pulling back quickly, as its icy interior struck cold into her veins.

"You should know better," Galen observed, hiding his smile by turning back to the plans laid out before him.

"The name of 'fortress' seems particularly appropriate for this building.  Here, look at these."

Dureena came and leant on the table beside him, experienced eyes tracing doors and windows and routes through the corridors, until they lit on one section.  "What about this, the storm drain?"

"I saw that too, but Merrin assures me that the entrance has been blocked leaving only the barest opening available to let the water through.  Every other exit has been sealed.  I don't think knocking on the front door will work somehow."

Dureena settled herself against the table, one leg swinging as she thought through the problem.  "Could we send in a probe, one of your automated spheres?"

"The resonance from even the smallest piece of technomancy will alert Renn to our presence here.  I'd rather not give him advance warning if I can help it."

"And the jamming device?"

"Limited to this house.  We are far enough away that this should not send any feedback to him."

He took a turn around the room, pacing back and forth.  A sign of his disturbance that he would not allow anyone but her to see.  "If he did not hold hostages this would be comparatively easy, mage against mage.  But I won't endanger the children."

He let his glance rest on her expressive features and saw the grief rise again.  Turning away from her he continued to talk, trying to fight down the instinct within him that said he should go to her, hold her, comfort her.  He had tried that when their son had died, she had rejected him then, hurting him more that he had thought it possible to be hurt, he would not go there again.

"Renn must be drawing his power from his ship, using it to enhance the naturally occurring electromagnetic energies this world emits.  To keep holo demons in play constantly would be a severe drain."

Dureena broke in on him.  "If we could find and disrupt his ship's power it would give us a huge advantage.  But we would have to co-ordinate it with the strike on the fortress or he would know our intent.  How likely is he to make use of the hostages, Galen?"

He joined her at the table, his eyes looking over the blue print once again, yet not seeing the unsophisticated drawing.  "I don't know.  I never knew him; he was a myth years before me in the initiation.  What I do know is that he abused his powers in some way that made the Council send out the edict for his flaying.  We are sworn to do no harm, but with power comes corruption.  Those for whom the search for knowledge had been paramount, suddenly found themselves custodians of something that gave them huge influence.  Not all could cope with that.  The tests our masters put us to throughout our noviciate were supposed to weed out the weak and morally dubious."  Galen sighed.  "We are not infallible.  Renn found out about the edict and ran; he has been a wanted man for the last seventy-five years.  I'm not sure how that would affect a person who was already unstable in some fashion."

Dureena stifled a yawn.  "Sorry," she apologised.

Galen watched her sympathetically.  He knew she had had little sleep the last few weeks, an hour here or there when exhaustion finally caught up with her.  He needed little sleep, the implants keeping his system functioning for many hours longer than the human norm.

Overcompensating for the surge of tenderness that threatened him, Galen's voice was harsher than he intended.  "Go to bed, Dureena.  We'll discuss this in the morning."  And he turned away, not seeing the hurt and longing that had surged across her naked face.  He was only aware of the loss of her warmth from his side and the severance of their unique link as she walked away from him.

***

Merrin lay with Sharree in his arms, their bed rumpled from the lovemaking they had indulged in minutes before.

"Tell me what you saw, Merrin.  I don't have your gift, but they seem so..."  Sharree hesitated, unsure of the right words to describe the impressions she had received from their guests.

"Hurt?  Isolated?  Grieving?  I know what you mean.  When I first saw Dureena her aura was so vivid, so painful to see.  Galen's too.  Whether their hurt is because of each other or some outside influence I couldn't say.  But they are inextricably linked.  There is this flow of energy about them both, silver strands that I have never seen before.  Galen is fairly bound with them, solid ribbons of something I can't describe.  And Dureena has those same elements but to a lesser degree.  They could just be Master and pupil but they seem linked somehow, and in a more intimate fashion.  It's hard to describe.  But the ribbons around Galen reminded me of those around Renn, only the colour is different."

"You never told me about that."  Sharree propped herself up on one arm and stared down at her lover.  "Tell me."

Merrin pulled her down into his embrace, holding her close.  "His aura was always hazy to me, the colours merging into one another so that he was almost impossible to read, but the bands that encircled Renn...  the bands were a deep black that sucked at the light around him."

"Why didn't you tell me?  If we had known from the start the danger he represented maybe we could have stopped him."

"I didn't know what it meant then, how could I?  It wasn't until I saw the silver around Galen to compare it to that I realised myself.  They seem evenly matched but we have yet to see Galen do anything except talk.  What if he can't help us, Sharree?  What if bringing them here makes things worse?"

Sharree's arms tightened around him.  "We have to hope, and believe.  There is something about Galen that makes me want to trust that this will all turn out well.  If we don't believe, we are lost."

***

Galen sat at his ease in the hall.  As in his own home, an open fire burned merrily in the grate, casting flickering shadows against the ceiling where the globe lights did not reach.  The very primitiveness of these people intrigued him.  During his formative years he had read a lot of stories set around myth and magic, knowing that it did not exist but enjoying the tales nonetheless.  Now it seemed he was faced with the real thing...  and it appeared a paltry gift compared to the power he possessed.  He was scholar enough to try and not pre-judge his circumstances; he would see how things developed before making his decision, after all, it had taken a certain amount of power to hold open the portal for a day and a night.

His eyes idly scanned the bookshelves, drawn by their number and obvious age.  His father had instilled in him a love of the written word, and the tactile sensations only available from the weight of a book in his hand.  Merrin's assertion that his coming had been foretold surfaced in his mind.  Somewhere then, on one of these shelves, should be the book holding that prognostication.

Rising, he took a closer look at the tomes stacked from floor to ceiling.  Touching the odd one here and there, pulling out another and scanning its contents swiftly.  The language, though not something he was too familiar with, was close enough to one he did for him to make out the gist of the writings.  So far nothing had struck him as out of the ordinary, unless it were the unlikely incantation and rather messy accompanying potion that was guaranteed to make someone fall in love!  The books all had the feel of age about them, the smell and the look indicating the passing of the years.

And then he found it.  Buried near the end of a long row of books seemingly dedicated to that world's agricultural history was a large, deep red covered book that caught his eye.  Pulling it from the shelf, he returned to his place in front of the fire and began to read.  There was much thee-ing and thou-ing, a lot of vague hints as to the unknown danger to be faced by the inhabitants of this world, and then a passage that took all his attention.

And in our time of greatest need will come the Wizard who will free us.  Galen will be his name, and terrible will be his retribution on those who have defiled our world.  For as it is written in the stars, dark shall face light in one last battle and light shall prevail through the power of darkness.  With one thought shall the darkness save us and bring us into the light.  And lo, our enemy will stand defeated.

Galen read it again.  Light through the darkness?  And he had been named, as Merrin had said, as some kind of saviour from the mists of legend.  Sighing in frustration, Galen's fingers skimmed across the page and every sense within him seemed to tingle in response.  Something about that page was wrong, he was sure of it.  No hint of technomancy touched the paper and yet he knew, without doubt, that it was false.  Opening the book further on, he let his fingers explore the text; age and truth assailed him.  Not by any trick of technomancy had this skill developed, but years of careful study and decades of handling ancient texts in all their forms, a deep-seated love of books that he had nurtured for many a year.  This page felt wrong, though the book itself was old; he could feel it with every highly honed sense.

His thoughts turned to the sandy haired magician that had lied to him, and to the woman he had thought genuine.  Had she known of this deception?  She was the leader of the Circle, could any one of them act without her knowledge?  He would make it his business to find out, but in the meantime he would take his own measures to test each member's veracity.

"So you want to play games?" Galen murmured softly, his expressive grey eyes turning stormy.  His gaze travelled down the page one last time before he closed the book with a snap that echoed around the room.

***

On quiet feet, Galen moved through the house depositing the minuscule transceivers in key areas.  One in the hall where they had talked, one on Merrin's coat that hung in the passage, and others dotted strategically.  He tested each one, then moved up to the room where Dureena slept.  If she was still awake he would talk this over with her, if not...  he would catch some sleep for himself until the morning and whatever lay ahead.

Dureena was in a deep sleep as he entered the room, though not a peaceful one.  She moved restlessly under the covers, the eyes under the lids moving rapidly, indicating that she dreamt.  A frown creased her forehead and he heard her murmuring softly, her words not reaching him.  He moved closer, intent on calming her with a soothing spell and then he caught her words.  She was calling for their son, his name painful to hear.

"Allain...no, no!  Galen!...."

Galen felt her pain as her hand came to rest on the amulet around her neck, opening that link between them.  He came to his knees beside her, his fingers gently stroking her face as he spoke the incantation, giving words to the formulae that skittered across his mind.

"Sleep, my love," he said softly.  Part of him wanted her to open her eyes so that they could finally talk this through, wanting to find a way to ease both their hearts and to become one again.  But the part of him that had for years denied his emotions had taken over his heart, and he sat back on his heels watching her drift into a deeper, untroubled rest, glad that he did not have to face their shared pain for a little while longer.

On the other side of the bed he saw the blood red flower, where Dureena had deposited it earlier.  Curious, he picked it up, touching its petals with gently exploring fingers.  Who had given her this token?  Curious green eyes danced in his imagination as he remembered Merrin escorting her to this room.  Very carefully he set the flower back in its place, then softly let himself out of the room to return to his place in front of the fire in the hall below; all thoughts of sleep banished from his mind by more basic and disturbing ones.

***

"Good morning, Sharree."

The woman halted at the door and let her eyes search the room for the owner of the voice.  "Galen?"

"Over here," he replied, getting up from his chair at the far end of the room.  From that position he could not see her, nor had he heard her in the physical sense.  But his tiny spies had indicated her passage from the moment she had left her room, tracking her every inch of the way to where she now stood.  He could feel her uncertainty, and the prickle of suspicion she emanated.

"I have been going over the plans for the fortress."  Galen stood, his fingers resting lightly on the map in front of him.  "How are the entrances sealed?  According to this," his finger flicked at the paper, "there are six doors, fifteen windows plus the storm drain that all have fairly easy access."

"True.  And we tried them all, without success.  When Renn first took the place he boarded up all the doors save the front one.  That would be no problem, if we had enough strength to break through, but there is something else there.  It's hard to explain but when you try to touch any part of the building there is a resistance."

Galen moved closer to her.  "How did you discover this ...  resistance?"

"Verain, one of the circle who was here last night, has the ability to shape shift.  She changed into the smallest animal she could, a feline common to the area.  That way she hoped to enter through the storm drain.  She got right up to within a couple of inches of the wall then hit an invisible barrier.  Verain followed it all around the building; there is not one section of the place that is not protected.  We have no way to get in, and Renn does not come out."

Galen listened to the defeat in her voice and wondered how genuine her distress was.

"What of the Prophecy?  Why do you believe that I can help when you have failed."

"The prophecy says that someone will come in our time of need.  The spell that we composed was aimed at finding someone with a power that matched that of our enemy.  The spell found you."  Sharree pulled herself up to her full height.  "I know you feel that we are imposing on you.  You don't know us, nor owe us any allegiance, but you may be the one hope we have of getting our children back and ridding us of his tainted presence.  Our kinsfolk are wasting away.  The ability to think clearly has been taken from them; they have no interest in anything around them.  Suicide was an almost unheard of act, now it is becoming an every day occurrence.  I don't know what Renn wants, but he has to be stopped."

Sharree's hand now rested on his arm as if to emphasise her point, her face close to his.  Her eyes and voice were compelling, and he felt his suspicions waver.  She had said 'someone' when talking about the prophecy.  Not mentioning him by name.  So did this suggest that Merrin acted alone?

Galen hovered on the brink of speech, when Merrin's voice broke the intimacy of the moment.

"Good morning."  The normally friendly green eyes were watching them closely, the tightness around his mouth indicating his unease at the close proximity they shared.  Galen unaware that Merrin could see the revealing auras that surrounded them both.

Galen nodded as he moved away and took his seat at the table.  "Merrin, have you had a chance to get close to the fortress?  Have you touched the barrier Renn has erected?"

Relaxing slightly Merrin also sat, then nodded.  "I have.  It felt similar to that which I encountered on your world."

"Come here a moment."  Galen indicated for Merrin to join him.  "Try to touch me now."

Merrin's hand moved forward and encountered resistance.

"Did it feel like this?"

"No.  No, it was softer somehow.  It felt as though if you pushed hard enough you could break through, but it resisted every time."

 

Galen made a slight adjustment to his formula.  "Try now."

"Closer."

"And again."

It took four more attempts to match Renn's shield frequencies with any sort of success.

By now Dureena had joined them, and she watched with interest the interplay between the three people caught up in the experiment.  She also saw the unconscious way Sharree's eyes moved to Galen time and again, saw the suspicion in Merrin's face whenever he caught that look.  Galen however, seemed locked within himself, giving no hint of any emotion.  A sure sign that he was suspicious of something or someone.

"Have you found out about the flyer yet?"  Her question effectively broke up the tableau.

"Flyer?" Sharree turned to her guest.

"The seat of Renn's power.  Galen, why don't you show them what it looks like.  The sooner we can find and destroy it, the sooner we can get into the fortress and get this over with."

Galen eyed her cautiously.  It was unlike Dureena to be so callous, so direct in her comments.  He lowered the shield he had been testing, and summoned a picture of a flyer.  The design for each and every mage ship was the same, only if the individual wished to hide its true form would they enhance its appearance with illusion.  Hovering in the air, the sleek black machine looked innocent enough, yet the power within it was enormous.

Merrin and Sharree exchanged a glance, Merrin finally answering for them both.  "There is such a thing, it sits in the centre of the fortress."  He moved to the blueprint.  "Right here," he indicated the large courtyard that was the very heart of the building.

Galen swore softly.  He quickly discarded the first tentative plan he and Dureena had plotted.  "Do we know where in the building the hostages are kept?  Is there any way to find out?"

"According to the builder the west wing houses the kitchens, store rooms etc, the east wing had been stripped bare of everything save the doors and windows.  The other two wings, back and front, were living quarters.  Four bedrooms, a dining hall, library etc."

"Why aren't they marked on here?  Where is the builder?  Fetch him, now."  Merrin bridled at Galen's curt tone, but backed down when he encountered the hard look directed at him.

"It might take a while to find him.  No one does any work any more, only those commissioned by Renn.  Jon could be anywhere if he has no work on."

"Try the nearest ale house."

"I'll go with you."  Dureena moved further into the room.  She was edgy, tense, full of repressed energy that pushed her this way and that.  Being cooped up in this house was stretching her nerves.  In days gone by this claustrophobia would have seemed strange, alien.  She liked small spaces, was just as happy crawling through tunnels as perched high on a building.  Today though she felt the need to see sky above her, to stretch her legs and walk some of the tension from her muscles.

"No!" Galen and Sharree exclaimed together.

"No?" Dureena's voice was deceptively quiet.

"I can not extend the field beyond this house, Dureena.  Once outside these walls Renn's interference will have full rein.  Your senses were almost overloaded when we arrived, think what an extended exposure could do."

"Besides," chimed in Sharree, "your clothing would cause much comment.  You could not hope to pass unnoticed in the town."

"A mobile unit of some kind then.  Come on, Galen.  We need to scout the area and we can't use our usual methods.  What about a limited interference incantation, one that isn't likely to touch off Renn's wards?" She turned to Sharree.  "And I presume I could borrow some less conspicuous garments?  Though don't ask me how I'll manage to walk without tripping myself up," she muttered under her breath.  She watched as Galen turned his attention inward, gauging her request, filtering it through his processing centres.  Finally he nodded, though his eyes warned her that he was not happy with the request.

Galen retrieved his sphere; closing his hand around it he slowly brought the jamming field closer and closer until it encapsulated only him.  Merrin and Sharree gasped as the interference hit them but they soon adapted.  Dureena, however, nearly fell to the floor as his protection was removed.  Grabbing the table for support she glared at him.  Hammers pounded at the inside of her skull, breaking down her resistance.  She touched the amulet and tried to reach Galen, but she could not bring her will to bear.  Every incantation that she had learned seemed to evaporate from her mind, slipping from her grasp like smoke through fingers.

Gradually the pain lessened, until it was nothing more than a dull roar.  She could think again, just.  She heard the snap of metal as Galen shut a panel on his staff.  "I had to know what frequency to set this on.  It won't hold back everything, but enough to let you function.  Keep your wits about you, both of you."

Galen was fixing a tiny metal object to the chain around her neck; his fingers warm against her skin.  She felt the attraction between them burst into life as his eyes connected with hers.  She missed him so much.

Galen's voice was matter-of -fact as he adjusted the object to sit flat against her chest.  "Don't get closer to Renn's fortification than a hundred yards, further away if you can.  This shield extends for only three feet in any direction, stay close together but don't get too close to anyone else.  The last thing we need is for some loose-tongued native to blurt our secret somewhere where Renn has a watcher."

He turned to Merrin.  "Stay close to Dureena.  Be as quick as you can."

To Dureena he sent a private message.

Continued

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